Certain surgical procedures performed on infants introduce novel problems in regard to patient positioning and access by the physician. For example, the surgical procedure for treating retinopathy of prematurity employs laser photo coagulation for an infant's eyes. Current practices utilize typical surgery tables on which the infant is positioned. This positioning requires the physician to continuously move around the table and commonly take on physical positions that are awkward in order to have access to all parts of the infant's eye with the laser. Normally the infant is not moved or repositioned during the procedure because of the various tubes, hoses and monitors connected to the infant. The awkward movements required can result in injury to the physician over time and also decrease the efficiency of the procedure.
Small auxiliary tables that attach to the side or end of an operating table for performing medical procedures on infants are known. However, these tables still require the physician to assume awkward positions. Other medical procedures performed on infants, in addition to retinal laser photocoagulation, present similar access problems. Access can also be a problem for certain medical procedures performed on small animals.